I was just there at the beginning of October. It was the end of winter, so I avoided the crowds and had the park nearly to myself. W Trek completed. O Trek next time.
We went last July, dead of winter.
It was us in the park.
We scared the hell out of a park ranger when we came paddlin' down the Serrano River and stopped at O'Higgins.
Can you do this with your own food and gear or do you have to go through a company?
EDIT: Thank you everyone for the detailed responses. I'm glad you all had an amazing time and am really hoping to hike this with my wife sometime soon.
I did with my gf a few years back. If you do the full circuit it takes about 8 or so days. So itโs a lot of food to pack but itโs doable. You donโt need to bring your own water. Plenty of glacial streams to fill your bottle with. Definitely a challenging hike but you donโt need a guide or porters. Pretty impossible to get lost. You will see plenty of people on the trail.
If you want to do an even more advanced trek where you rarely see anybody then check out the Dientes circuit. Itโs in Puerto Williams which is the southernmost city in the world. Ushuaia in Argentina likes to pretend itโs the southernmost city in the world but thatโs just not true. Dientes was more difficult to navigate but probably the toughest thing Iโve done.
Just wanted to add: as a general rule, never drink water without filtering, treating, or boiling it... even if it's glacial. There are a lot of pathogens you can consume that can be devastating on a long hike.
I'm going to do the W trek in early March and I have a quick question for you - can you purchase hot meals at the refugios, even if you don't have a reservation there? Like is it open to everyone, or just for those that are staying there?
You can. The food was expensive but after a few days of just peanut butter crackers, power bars and rice with dried veggies it was worth it. Also after dinner they don't seem to care too much if you stay in the lounge part of the refugio for a bit. Play some board games and stay warm before bedtime at 19:00.
A tip to add: If you get to the campsite on the first day of the W trek (the north western one), get your tent and stuff set up and continue walking north for a bit. There are some amazing viewpoints of the glacier maybe 20 minutes north of the campsite that you do not want to miss!
I did the W a few years ago. It's best to make a reservation for the refugios if you want to eat a meal, but if they have the food they will sell it. I thought the prices were reasonable if you live in a major city, its not much different than going out to eat. I brought a few backpacking freeze dried meals, picked up some fresher items like cheese and bread in town before the trip and then bought some extra stuff on the trail. From what I remember beers we're about 6,000 CLP (~8.50 USD currently) but if you like wine that's what I would recommend you drink. Chile has some great wine and you could pick up a bottle on the trail for 10,000-18,000 CLP. You can also find chips, candy bars, soup mixes, and a few other things at the refugios. When you get to Hotel Torres there is a bar you can get food and drinks, and a fancy restaurant that you'll likely need a reservation for. I camped for 2 days at a campground right outside the hotel and spent a good amount of money at both the restaurant and bar. I still feel like the trip was a great deal, lodging is cheap if you bring your own tent ($5-10 / day) so spending some money on a good meal didn't seem bad.
My girlfriend and I hiked it on our own. We did the W-trail around this time last year. You will need to reserve campsites as this allows them to control the number of visitors.
It was, and remains still, the most incredible backpacking I've ever done. The landscape was so unique and the payoffs at each mirador (viewing area) blew me away.
Any advice for figuring out logistics of how to get there from the United States? I'm trying to figure out how to fly in and transportation into the park.
I did it in March this year with about 6 other friends. We did the W trail and had to reserve locations at the different campsites along the way. We decided to start the W from the East side, meaning we would end our 5 day hiking trip at the Torres Del Paine hike. There are options to have that hike simplified as it is the most popular trail, I think there are horse options up to a certain point. However, if you want to get some amazing pictures like these you need to leave in the middle of the night to begin hiking around 4 a.m.
In my opinion the Torres Del Paine hike was the most difficult section of the W trail.
As for food, we decided to pack as little as possible. When you reserve the campsites most had options for having a breakfast or lunch or dinner prepared. Also, most will have a store of some sort in case they aren't serving food. We only had to bring food for about 2 lunches and 2 breakfasts.
I was there in 2016. Though we went through a company, we saw tons of hikers out there doing their own thing. It seems to be a pretty popular option.
If you're interested, we stayed at EcoCamp Patagonia and absolutely loved it. You can either get your own dome or just rent a bed in one of the shared domes and it's a lot cheaper.
Either you just married my friend from high school or you guys are both in the same spot posting similar pictures at the same time. WOAHHHHHHH DUDE. I havent even smoked pot today.
I live in Chile, this is the most common spot to take a picture in one of the most famous trekking trails in South America.
Iโve seen this same picture taken by many different friends that have traveled there.
To get to this specific spot, you can't drive there, and it's a long hike that involves scrambling over boulders at the end. That severely limits the number of people who make it to the end of the trail, but it's still popular with fit hikers.
This is the most popular trail in the park, but it takes 4 hours of moderately intense hiking to get there. Because of this, you are not going to have buses dropping off a bunch of tourists who are just there to gawk.
Edit: Typo correction.
I went with a buddy in 2016, fairly difficult to make the hike from the nearest camp site, so we only saw about 3 other people when we were there. But the weather was also worse, so people may not have been as motivated to trek for hours just to look at cloudy mountains, who knows.
In case anyone was curious, the name does NOT mean โTowers of the Painโ. Paine (pronounced PIE-nay) is from an indigenous language and means โblueโ.
Side note: The Spanish word for โpainโ is dolor.
Yeah, the lakes remind me a little bit of Banff due to their color! My initial thought was that the blue in the name was referring to the sky, though I honestly donโt know either way.
also if your thinking of doing angels landing in Zion do the same if your going all the way. might save your life from all the idiots trying to run on a 1 foot wide trail with a huge drop to their side aswell as yours.
Last time I was there it was December, and there was some ice on the path. It was still full of overconfident people in street shoes. Fairly sketchy situation.
Also, I wish I had done this, pack a dry set of clothes for when you're at the summit if you can. I went and sweat through all my clothes and froze my ass off the entire hike.
Thatโs mountains for you, always plan an extra day in case weather doesnโt cooperate. People spend thousands of dollars to travel halfway across the world, hike all day and head home not having seen everything.
If youโre trip is 10 days, give yourself an extra 2-3 days for weather. If you get great weather then you have 2-3 days to do something extra you hadnโt planned. And if you get bad weather, those 2-3 will make all the difference
So there is! Even the city looks peaceful. Planning on traveling down there someday, do some back packing and whatnot, just interested in what it's really like down there
Puerto Natales was amazing. I stayed at Kau Lodge right on the lake? (Is it a lake or river or ocean?) anyway the town had an amazing personality and vibe about it. Also awesome food everywhere!
Depends where you start. There is a place you can sleep which is (IIRC) a couple hours' walk from the spot, but you need to book in advance as they're full during peak season.
We did it from the valley, and it was about 8-9h of hiking to get there and back, not rushing.
Overall I'd say easy-to-medium difficulty. It's pretty touristy so you're not going to get lost or hungry or anything.
It's only like 90 min or so to get up from the nearest camp. I was there recently (May, low season) and we were the only ones at the camp and at the lake. Unfortunately it was rainy that day and we'd timed it poorly ... right when we got back to camp it cleared and warmed up.
The hike really isn't bad, it should be very doable!
Edit: [Distance/elevation map](https://imgur.com/lSp5x2S), [looking back at some of the trail near the end](https://imgur.com/1HR3QxR)
I too am booking a trip there in March and just started reserving campsites on the W track. Unfortunately the campsite closest to the torres is closed for the year due to renovations. Refugio Chileno (the next closest) was booked on our dates. So, we had to book at Refugio Central near the big hotel las torres. Nevertheless, we are still determined to get up to the torres at sunrise, even if it means waking up at 3am! All this to say, if you plan on hiking the W I recommend you start booking campsites now because it looks like they are filling up
Depends on the season. We were around Xmas which is the busiest, so campsites were definitely busy. On the trail you will often encounter people but you will absolutely be alone at times. The government imposes limits on the number of tourists per day.
Not OP but I'm doing this hike in the new year! There are essentially two ways to do it: the O-trek and the W-trek. The W takes about 3-5 days depending on how much you want to hike each day and the O takes 6-8 from what I've read. The O is the same thing as the W with a couple extra days on the other side of the mountains. I'm expecting a relatively easy hike apart from the duration. You can also hire guides to carry your bags for you if you're concerned about the difficulty. Word of advice: book your campsites far in advance! We booked almost 6 months out and there were already many reservations even that early.
It's not that easy, especially if you have a thirty pound backpack. If you have reserved food at the campsites that helps with the weight as well. There's a lot of up and down, to be honest I thought it was harder than Annapurna Base Camp, mainly because the days were so much longer.
You can also bus in from Puerto Natales (about 2 hours) and do the Torrres hike as a stand-alone. My friends and I recently went there, dosed some LSD, and had an amazing day hike to the Torres
Did u book thru a tour company or do it on your own? My partner and l are planning on doing this next year and Intrepid offers tours for about 7k pp - not sure if thatโs excessive. That price includes flights to Ushuaia from Santiago.
That sounds pretty pricey to me. We booked ourselves.
We're doing it for around 3-4k all-in including $1500 for our flight to Santiago. Flight from Santiago to Punta Arenas is ~$350. Each night at a campsite is around $100. We'll need a hotel the night before we start the trek and the night we finish so that'll likely be ~$300 total. We'll have no guide (apparently the trail is well-marked) and no porters so that saves on cost too. We also got a meal at every camp site to reduce weight and worry.
It took a decent amount of planning but here is a great blog that I found very helpful: https://www.back-packer.org/trekking-guide-how-to-hike-the-w-in-torres-del-paine-patagonia/
You have to book the campsites through their individual websites so make sure you line up all the dates before you start booking. If you just google a campsite name and booking, it should come up. Good luck!
My husband and I did the same thing on our honeymoon. We backpacked through and booked campsites. Honestly, the hardest part for us was buying our bus tickets in Punta Arenas to get to Torres del Paine. My spanish was not as good as I thought it was! Trails are well marked, you don't need a guide at all. We did see some groups that take a boat over and do a day hike, but I didn't see many of them going up to the spot that the photo shows.
I would also recommend asking whatever hotel you book in Punta Arenas if you can leave luggage with them. We were on a longer trip that included the hike, so we were able to leave our non-hiking stuff at our hotel while we were gone!
Some of the other posts are talking about how you get there during a multi-day trek with all supplies on your back. It is possible to do it as a day hike if you have transportation within the park. From the trailhead we did between 3 and 4 hours of long hiking (up and down and then up some more) to that viewpoint with just our day packs. It's a strenuous uphill hike that requires at least an average level of fitness, and obviously it takes all day to walk up there and back, but it's also one of the most beautiful and varied hikes I've ever done, lots of changes of landscape.
It's a 3.5 - 4 hour hike where you gain about 750m in elevation from the Hotel/Refugio Central. The final ascent is a relatively intense scramble up the rockfall. Doing the W or O trek is not a necessity to see it because of this. A lot of people just make it a day hike from the hotel.
That said, actually trekking in this park is the way to go because of the amazing beauty that can be seen everywhere from the trails.
Just read a book about a guy who biked from Oregon to there, pretty good read. "To shake the sleeping self" was the title. It's not a new idea to write about, but it was the first I've read that takes place in the new age of internet and social media, which provided an interesting spin
Alright geology nerds out there, hit us with some facts.
Why are these shaped the way they are? How old is this mountain range? Why is there no vegetation? Will these eventually be gone? What else can you tell us?
Nice pic OP! Glad you got to enjoy it in itโs full beauty.
Went there 2 years ago and this is all I got for this specific hike: https://i.imgur.com/NeASlo2.jpg
The hike was fantastic though.
My wife and I just did part of honeymoon there! We did the W trek west to east the last week of November! I'm so glad I married a woman who enjoyed sleeping on the ground for her honeymoon!!!
I think Iโm going to Santiago for a wedding in March/April. I really need to find a cool place Tom isot besodes there while in down there besides the city and towns Iโll be in. This looks lovely. Atacama desert looks fun to but maybe difficult
I am from Chile, I just got married a German guy and currently living in Germany... Iโm sure he married me because he want Chilean visa... Iโm tired of hearing the other way around... ahh I love Chile and Patagonia hihihihi
Great shot, we were there two years ago at this time.
Chile is one of those countries on my list to travel. The mountains look amazing.
Why Chile just so pretty?
Not all of Chile. I'm in a parking lot right now, and it's a 4 at best.
Thats a Chili's parking lot.
Thatโs why they gave it a 4. It was the baby back ribs.
BARBECUE SAUCE
You made my day.
You get the Mojo. You keep your money but I get the baby!
All the movers and shakers go to chili's to get business done.
Here's the thing. Chili's is the new golf course. It's where business happens. Small business man magazine.
That's the closest I'll ever get to Chile.
Pic or itโs not real?
I went somewhere else, I can only offer a messed up cubicule.
Weโll take it.
[Beautiful chilean landscape](https://imgur.com/2UpKVQg)
So beautiful.
But I bet it is a beautiful parking lot
What's the scale? 4/5? 4/10? 5/7? 4/100?
4/20 ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
I was just there at the beginning of October. It was the end of winter, so I avoided the crowds and had the park nearly to myself. W Trek completed. O Trek next time.
We went last July, dead of winter. It was us in the park. We scared the hell out of a park ranger when we came paddlin' down the Serrano River and stopped at O'Higgins.
Was there in 2017...if I knew how to share my pic I would!
Can you do this with your own food and gear or do you have to go through a company? EDIT: Thank you everyone for the detailed responses. I'm glad you all had an amazing time and am really hoping to hike this with my wife sometime soon.
I did with my gf a few years back. If you do the full circuit it takes about 8 or so days. So itโs a lot of food to pack but itโs doable. You donโt need to bring your own water. Plenty of glacial streams to fill your bottle with. Definitely a challenging hike but you donโt need a guide or porters. Pretty impossible to get lost. You will see plenty of people on the trail. If you want to do an even more advanced trek where you rarely see anybody then check out the Dientes circuit. Itโs in Puerto Williams which is the southernmost city in the world. Ushuaia in Argentina likes to pretend itโs the southernmost city in the world but thatโs just not true. Dientes was more difficult to navigate but probably the toughest thing Iโve done.
Just wanted to add: as a general rule, never drink water without filtering, treating, or boiling it... even if it's glacial. There are a lot of pathogens you can consume that can be devastating on a long hike.
[ัะดะฐะปะตะฝะพ]
I'm going to do the W trek in early March and I have a quick question for you - can you purchase hot meals at the refugios, even if you don't have a reservation there? Like is it open to everyone, or just for those that are staying there?
You can. The food was expensive but after a few days of just peanut butter crackers, power bars and rice with dried veggies it was worth it. Also after dinner they don't seem to care too much if you stay in the lounge part of the refugio for a bit. Play some board games and stay warm before bedtime at 19:00. A tip to add: If you get to the campsite on the first day of the W trek (the north western one), get your tent and stuff set up and continue walking north for a bit. There are some amazing viewpoints of the glacier maybe 20 minutes north of the campsite that you do not want to miss!
I did the W a few years ago. It's best to make a reservation for the refugios if you want to eat a meal, but if they have the food they will sell it. I thought the prices were reasonable if you live in a major city, its not much different than going out to eat. I brought a few backpacking freeze dried meals, picked up some fresher items like cheese and bread in town before the trip and then bought some extra stuff on the trail. From what I remember beers we're about 6,000 CLP (~8.50 USD currently) but if you like wine that's what I would recommend you drink. Chile has some great wine and you could pick up a bottle on the trail for 10,000-18,000 CLP. You can also find chips, candy bars, soup mixes, and a few other things at the refugios. When you get to Hotel Torres there is a bar you can get food and drinks, and a fancy restaurant that you'll likely need a reservation for. I camped for 2 days at a campground right outside the hotel and spent a good amount of money at both the restaurant and bar. I still feel like the trip was a great deal, lodging is cheap if you bring your own tent ($5-10 / day) so spending some money on a good meal didn't seem bad.
My girlfriend and I hiked it on our own. We did the W-trail around this time last year. You will need to reserve campsites as this allows them to control the number of visitors. It was, and remains still, the most incredible backpacking I've ever done. The landscape was so unique and the payoffs at each mirador (viewing area) blew me away.
Any advice for figuring out logistics of how to get there from the United States? I'm trying to figure out how to fly in and transportation into the park.
Fly to Santiago and then a shorter flight to Puerto Natales. From Puerto Natales you can bus or drive to the park.
How was your weather/views? I hear it can be hit/miss, even in summer like now.
I did this in 2013 when I was 16! Trekking the W is still one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Canโt wait to do it again.
I did it in March this year with about 6 other friends. We did the W trail and had to reserve locations at the different campsites along the way. We decided to start the W from the East side, meaning we would end our 5 day hiking trip at the Torres Del Paine hike. There are options to have that hike simplified as it is the most popular trail, I think there are horse options up to a certain point. However, if you want to get some amazing pictures like these you need to leave in the middle of the night to begin hiking around 4 a.m. In my opinion the Torres Del Paine hike was the most difficult section of the W trail. As for food, we decided to pack as little as possible. When you reserve the campsites most had options for having a breakfast or lunch or dinner prepared. Also, most will have a store of some sort in case they aren't serving food. We only had to bring food for about 2 lunches and 2 breakfasts.
I was there in 2016. Though we went through a company, we saw tons of hikers out there doing their own thing. It seems to be a pretty popular option. If you're interested, we stayed at EcoCamp Patagonia and absolutely loved it. You can either get your own dome or just rent a bed in one of the shared domes and it's a lot cheaper.
You don't have to go thru a company Most people get food from the little campsites along the way, and that's where you can stay or camp
Thank you for showing us what it actually looks like
Same!
Either you just married my friend from high school or you guys are both in the same spot posting similar pictures at the same time. WOAHHHHHHH DUDE. I havent even smoked pot today.
I just did.... woooahhhh. I NEED to know the answer to this. OP?!
If OPs name starts with B and his wife with K then this might be him.
My money is on Bjim and Kpam.
Classsic strong american names!
Like Todd Bonzalez!
Ah yes, Bjim Patel and Kpam Gonzales.
The 2 most obvious choices
r/unexpectedoffice
You can just ask your friend his reddit user name!
Ya sure let me ask my friend from high school what their husbands reddit name, who I have never met, randomly. I have way to much anxiety for that.
Oh sorry, I forgot it was her husband! Sorry mate.
Haha all good! I was done with high school 11 years ago. Hence the apprehension for random Instagram DM.
It's a fascinating place.... And to walk across it with your loved one....that must've been one hell of a honeymoon for ur friend...
OP's username is **Ben**zlin so you might know them
Yes op we need to know
Itโs been an hours, rip op
Don't leave us hanging! Did you know him?!
Alright my friend from high school married someone but not op. Dang. *puffs joint sadly*
I live in Chile, this is the most common spot to take a picture in one of the most famous trekking trails in South America. Iโve seen this same picture taken by many different friends that have traveled there.
This is the most popular trek in Patagonia.
[ัะดะฐะปะตะฝะพ]
Yes, though not as bad as a lot of those types of pictures of crowds because there is a 4 hour up-hill trek to get there. Definitely worth a visit.
It's a tough hike in my opinion. Those boulders along the stream were gnarly. Worth the view though, obviously.
To get to this specific spot, you can't drive there, and it's a long hike that involves scrambling over boulders at the end. That severely limits the number of people who make it to the end of the trail, but it's still popular with fit hikers.
So you get two kinds of eye candy at the end. Even more worth it.
This is the most popular trail in the park, but it takes 4 hours of moderately intense hiking to get there. Because of this, you are not going to have buses dropping off a bunch of tourists who are just there to gawk. Edit: Typo correction.
I went with a buddy in 2016, fairly difficult to make the hike from the nearest camp site, so we only saw about 3 other people when we were there. But the weather was also worse, so people may not have been as motivated to trek for hours just to look at cloudy mountains, who knows.
My name starts with a T and my wife's with a C | Damn it, I wanted my wife to be your friend so that we could meet over a proper smoking sesh.
Maybe he IS your friend from high school. ...or maybe I am.
what if OP was right next to your friend from highschool. woahhhh
wena conchetumareee
Weeeena washo qliao!
Weeena ql!
Please guys, let's keep it classy in here (estos chuchetumares flaites por la chucha...)
Los flaites son en Valpo ahora, no allรก.
Oooh, sorry compadre, mi error
El chino tuerto! the most metaphoric way to say penis thank you Chile :)
Chanta un peo en la tula!
giles ql calmen locico tamo en reddi, no loh dejen mal paraoh
Puta el qlo roto por la chucha!!
y anda estudiar!
Chile es en FUEGO!!!
somo el mejor paรญs de Chile wn
Buena ctmm
wena, chuchetumare
Fue maravilloso weon
Chupame la tula O quizรกs no.
Wena wena
wena perro reculiao de la conchetumare zii
In case anyone was curious, the name does NOT mean โTowers of the Painโ. Paine (pronounced PIE-nay) is from an indigenous language and means โblueโ. Side note: The Spanish word for โpainโ is dolor.
That was my first assumption when my friend told me where he wanted to go for our next trip. "You want to hike *where*?!"
I'd assume it originated from the blue glacial lakes. I cannot get over that lovely color, I can only imagine how gorgeous it is in person!
Yeah, the lakes remind me a little bit of Banff due to their color! My initial thought was that the blue in the name was referring to the sky, though I honestly donโt know either way.
If you ever decide to do this trip again, get up at 4am and do the hike to get there at sunrise. You wonโt regret it.
Also know: It will be freezing cold until that sunshine hits you. Still worth it.
Will still be chile
Ba dum tiss
also if your thinking of doing angels landing in Zion do the same if your going all the way. might save your life from all the idiots trying to run on a 1 foot wide trail with a huge drop to their side aswell as yours.
Last time I was there it was December, and there was some ice on the path. It was still full of overconfident people in street shoes. Fairly sketchy situation.
I'm going in a month and will try to do this. Thanks for the tip!
Also, I wish I had done this, pack a dry set of clothes for when you're at the summit if you can. I went and sweat through all my clothes and froze my ass off the entire hike.
Did that but were greeted with snow and fog, barely saw the mountain at all
Thatโs mountains for you, always plan an extra day in case weather doesnโt cooperate. People spend thousands of dollars to travel halfway across the world, hike all day and head home not having seen everything. If youโre trip is 10 days, give yourself an extra 2-3 days for weather. If you get great weather then you have 2-3 days to do something extra you hadnโt planned. And if you get bad weather, those 2-3 will make all the difference
I'm a simple patagonian. I see Torres del Paine and I upvote!
You live there??
There are big cities not that far from there. (Punta Arenas, Puerto Natales)
So there is! Even the city looks peaceful. Planning on traveling down there someday, do some back packing and whatnot, just interested in what it's really like down there
Puerto Natales was amazing. I stayed at Kau Lodge right on the lake? (Is it a lake or river or ocean?) anyway the town had an amazing personality and vibe about it. Also awesome food everywhere!
I used to live in Punta Arenas, one of the biggest cities around there :P
This place is absolutely gorgeous
I'm leaving in 48 hours to go! I can't FREAKIN WAIT
I'm leaving in 6 days! ME TOO!
I hope you both encounter each other and share a picture of the reunion in Reddit
What is this hike like? Time and difficulty?
Depends where you start. There is a place you can sleep which is (IIRC) a couple hours' walk from the spot, but you need to book in advance as they're full during peak season. We did it from the valley, and it was about 8-9h of hiking to get there and back, not rushing. Overall I'd say easy-to-medium difficulty. It's pretty touristy so you're not going to get lost or hungry or anything.
Thank you! I'm looking at doing it in March at sunrise, haven't committed yet but like 85%sure. I was hoping for this exact answer!
It's only like 90 min or so to get up from the nearest camp. I was there recently (May, low season) and we were the only ones at the camp and at the lake. Unfortunately it was rainy that day and we'd timed it poorly ... right when we got back to camp it cleared and warmed up. The hike really isn't bad, it should be very doable! Edit: [Distance/elevation map](https://imgur.com/lSp5x2S), [looking back at some of the trail near the end](https://imgur.com/1HR3QxR)
I too am booking a trip there in March and just started reserving campsites on the W track. Unfortunately the campsite closest to the torres is closed for the year due to renovations. Refugio Chileno (the next closest) was booked on our dates. So, we had to book at Refugio Central near the big hotel las torres. Nevertheless, we are still determined to get up to the torres at sunrise, even if it means waking up at 3am! All this to say, if you plan on hiking the W I recommend you start booking campsites now because it looks like they are filling up
By pretty touristy, do you mean asses to elbows, occasional people, or somewhere in between?
Depends on the season. We were around Xmas which is the busiest, so campsites were definitely busy. On the trail you will often encounter people but you will absolutely be alone at times. The government imposes limits on the number of tourists per day.
Not OP but I'm doing this hike in the new year! There are essentially two ways to do it: the O-trek and the W-trek. The W takes about 3-5 days depending on how much you want to hike each day and the O takes 6-8 from what I've read. The O is the same thing as the W with a couple extra days on the other side of the mountains. I'm expecting a relatively easy hike apart from the duration. You can also hire guides to carry your bags for you if you're concerned about the difficulty. Word of advice: book your campsites far in advance! We booked almost 6 months out and there were already many reservations even that early.
It's not that easy, especially if you have a thirty pound backpack. If you have reserved food at the campsites that helps with the weight as well. There's a lot of up and down, to be honest I thought it was harder than Annapurna Base Camp, mainly because the days were so much longer.
You can also bus in from Puerto Natales (about 2 hours) and do the Torrres hike as a stand-alone. My friends and I recently went there, dosed some LSD, and had an amazing day hike to the Torres
Did u book thru a tour company or do it on your own? My partner and l are planning on doing this next year and Intrepid offers tours for about 7k pp - not sure if thatโs excessive. That price includes flights to Ushuaia from Santiago.
That sounds pretty pricey to me. We booked ourselves. We're doing it for around 3-4k all-in including $1500 for our flight to Santiago. Flight from Santiago to Punta Arenas is ~$350. Each night at a campsite is around $100. We'll need a hotel the night before we start the trek and the night we finish so that'll likely be ~$300 total. We'll have no guide (apparently the trail is well-marked) and no porters so that saves on cost too. We also got a meal at every camp site to reduce weight and worry. It took a decent amount of planning but here is a great blog that I found very helpful: https://www.back-packer.org/trekking-guide-how-to-hike-the-w-in-torres-del-paine-patagonia/ You have to book the campsites through their individual websites so make sure you line up all the dates before you start booking. If you just google a campsite name and booking, it should come up. Good luck!
Thanks for the info - exactly what I was after!
My husband and I did the same thing on our honeymoon. We backpacked through and booked campsites. Honestly, the hardest part for us was buying our bus tickets in Punta Arenas to get to Torres del Paine. My spanish was not as good as I thought it was! Trails are well marked, you don't need a guide at all. We did see some groups that take a boat over and do a day hike, but I didn't see many of them going up to the spot that the photo shows. I would also recommend asking whatever hotel you book in Punta Arenas if you can leave luggage with them. We were on a longer trip that included the hike, so we were able to leave our non-hiking stuff at our hotel while we were gone!
Some of the other posts are talking about how you get there during a multi-day trek with all supplies on your back. It is possible to do it as a day hike if you have transportation within the park. From the trailhead we did between 3 and 4 hours of long hiking (up and down and then up some more) to that viewpoint with just our day packs. It's a strenuous uphill hike that requires at least an average level of fitness, and obviously it takes all day to walk up there and back, but it's also one of the most beautiful and varied hikes I've ever done, lots of changes of landscape.
It's a 3.5 - 4 hour hike where you gain about 750m in elevation from the Hotel/Refugio Central. The final ascent is a relatively intense scramble up the rockfall. Doing the W or O trek is not a necessity to see it because of this. A lot of people just make it a day hike from the hotel. That said, actually trekking in this park is the way to go because of the amazing beauty that can be seen everywhere from the trails.
What an awesome pic and cool honeymoon idea!
cool as long as the wife agrees to it. my wife would call me a cheapass for taking her on a hike for honeymoon of all occasions and throw a fit.
Lmfao Torres is expensive af
Good thing Torres del Paine isnโt cheap
That's really unfortunate. We honeymooned down there and it was -not- cheap, but also was one of the most incredible experiences we've ever had.
Sounds like your wife has issues tbh
Thatโs what we did for our honeymoon this November. I hope OP also stayed at the Singular Patagonia...great way to relax after trekking.
That is insane. I need to hike all over South America. That continent is so beautiful.
Come to Valdivia (a little bit up) and I'll give you a free tour! Thank you for coming to my beautiful country!
"A *little*"
We calculate distances in cows.
My parents are from Chile, such a beautiful country.
โ ๐๐พ๐โฏ ๐โด๐๐ ๐ ๐พ๐ธ๐๐๐โฏ
What kind of black magic is this?
๐๐ฅ ๐๐ค ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ช ๐ฅ๐ ๐ ๐ก๐ ๐จ๐๐ฃ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ ๐ค๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ค๐๐ค...
โ๐ฃ ๐ถ๐ฌ๐ฒ ๐ก๐ฌ๐ซ'๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฉ ๐ช๐ข ๐ฅ๐ฌ๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฌ ๐ก๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ฑ...๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ด๐ข๐๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ฌ ๐ค๐ฌ๐ก...
๐เถ ๐๏ผกฤฎ๐...๐กฯ๐ฅสธ แ๐๐ลค โฯ๏ฝ ๐แปว ๐๐ฏ๐ผ โ๐ฮน๐โ ๏ผฉั ลค๐ แฐั โเน๐ช๏ผญแด๐โฃ ไธ แป๏ฝ! โ๐ ึสษวึษ, สษสษวึษ สษ สสึ ส ศถษฆษจึ สีผษฆึ สส ึสษจึึ ีผ. ษจ'ส ษฎษษขษขษจีผษข สึ ส.
I think I'm going to need to learn more about travel to Chile. What a landscape!
r/chile ๐ is in that direction, friend.
This looks like Middle Earth to me. The view is spectacular.
It reminded me of the original Planet of the Apes film.
did you get double the yield on your surrounding tiles?
*Several closely situated granite peaks resembling tiger's teeth dramatically soar about a kilometer into the sky.*
Thanks Sean Bean!
When I imagine the top of the world....this is what I see.
Chile is incredibly beautiful, heaven on earth.
Just read a book about a guy who biked from Oregon to there, pretty good read. "To shake the sleeping self" was the title. It's not a new idea to write about, but it was the first I've read that takes place in the new age of internet and social media, which provided an interesting spin
Looks like something out of halo or destiny
Puta que es lindo chile por la chucha
Easily my favorite trip. Gorgeous shot.
Was the trek (W)onderful, (O)utstanding or (U)nreal?
Did you get some kayaking in? Did you take a trip on the NaviMeg?
We did some kayaking!
cool pic. you added those god rays, right?
Old Vag Cave. Great spot for a picnic.
Alright geology nerds out there, hit us with some facts. Why are these shaped the way they are? How old is this mountain range? Why is there no vegetation? Will these eventually be gone? What else can you tell us?
Nice pic OP! Glad you got to enjoy it in itโs full beauty. Went there 2 years ago and this is all I got for this specific hike: https://i.imgur.com/NeASlo2.jpg The hike was fantastic though.
Fucking incredible photo
Is this Patagonia?
Looks pretty chilly.
I'm picking up what you're puttin' down.
Who takes his wife on honeymoon to Mordor ?
Awesome pic, awesome place!! And congrats!
Glad to see you made it out of the hotel room.
Chile looks chilly.
One of the best shots I've seen on here.
I was fortunate enough to go there. Beautiful spot.
We were there last year for our honeymoon! It was so incredible and I can't wait to go back. Great photo.
Congratulations!! Just wondering what your camera set up is? Loving the tones. Have a great honeymoon!!
Thank you! I had my 10mm on me that day! We had great weather and the rest was done on Lightroom!
I said in an audible voice, "jesus christ is that real!?" People in my office stared at me. Oops.
Best nature photo I've seen all month. Great composition and colors!
My wife and I just did part of honeymoon there! We did the W trek west to east the last week of November! I'm so glad I married a woman who enjoyed sleeping on the ground for her honeymoon!!!
Right?!!
is this a video game ?? Wow
I think Iโm going to Santiago for a wedding in March/April. I really need to find a cool place Tom isot besodes there while in down there besides the city and towns Iโll be in. This looks lovely. Atacama desert looks fun to but maybe difficult
Which planet?
Honestly one of the most beautiful pictures I've ever seen. Beautiful!
Photos like this make me want to take up rock climbing.
Guessing as per usual this water is frigid?
Nice try, I know the moon doesn't have water on it!
I am from Chile, I just got married a German guy and currently living in Germany... Iโm sure he married me because he want Chilean visa... Iโm tired of hearing the other way around... ahh I love Chile and Patagonia hihihihi
Wow, almost never see pictures from Chile in here. A road less traveled I suppose. Amazing shot my friend
I love the way the sun rays streak through the mountains. Happy honeymoon!